Bagshaw's 1846 Trade Directory of Derbyshire

BRETBY,
a parish and well built village, 3 miles E. from Burton-upon-Trent, contains
1,505 acres of fertile land, 65 houses, and 265 inhabitants. Population
in 1831, 325; rateable value £2,104. The Earl of Chesterfield
is the sole owner, lord of the manor - which formerly was a portion of
that of Repton - impropriator of the tithes, and patron of the church,
of which the living is a donative; value £30 ; Rev. John Tetley Smith,
B.A., incumbent. It is a small structure, with a tower and 3 bells,
and is very neatly fitted up. At Domesday survey, the manor, which
had belonged to Earl Algar, was part of the royal demesne. It afterwards
belonged to the Earl of Chester, and passed to the Seagraves with a part
of the manor of Repton. John de Seagrave, who was the king’s lieutenant
in Scotland, and taken prisoner at the battle of Bannockburn, was summoned
to parliament as a baron in 1295. In 1300 he had the king’s license
to castellate his mansion at Bretby. Bretby castle passed with the
manors to the Mowbrays - Lords Mowbray and Dukes of Norfolk. One
of the co-heiresses of this noble family brought Bretby to the Lords Berkley.
In 1585, the castle and manor of Bretby was purchased of the Berkeley family
by Sir Thomas Stanhope, grandfather of Philip the first Earl of Chesterfield.
In the month of November 1642, the Earl of Chesterfield fortified his house
at Bretby, and garrisoned it with 40 musketeers and 60 horse. Sir
John Gell having intelligence of it, sent 400 foot, with a party of dragoons,
under the command of Major Molanus. After a short defence, the Earl
and his party fled through the park towards Litchfield, and the house was
plundered. The countess, who was the daughter of the loyal Sir John
Packington, refusing to pay any composition to prevent it, declaring she
would not give them one penny ; but the officers saved her own chamber
with all her goods. Philip, the second earl, resided much at Bretby.
Bretby Castle, the site of which is discernable near the church, is said
to have been a building of great strength, and consisted of two courts,
and was standing in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The first Earl
of Chesterfield is supposed to have erected a noble mansion at Bretby,
of stone, with a curious chapel, in the midst of a large well wooded park,
with gardens, fountains, labyrinths, groves &c., all said to have been
peculiarly curious and pleasant, suitable to the genius of the owner, who
was the chief contriver of them. This mansion was taken down in the
year 1780. The present hall is a quadrangular castellated mansion,
which had been several years in building, and was left unfinished at the
death of its noble owner, in 1815. The greater part of it had been
fitted up and inhabited; the building has since been discontinued, and
remains unfinished. It has extensive pleasure grounds, terraces,
gardens, &c. situated in the midst of a park containing upwards of
400 acres of land, well wooded, with varied and picturesque scenery.
On the east side of the house is preserved a venerable cedar of Lebanon,
which, as appears by the gardener’s bill, in the Earl’s possession, was
planted in the month of February, 1676-7. It is probably the oldest
cedar in England, for, according to Evelyn, the cedar had not been brought
into this country in 1664. It is one of the seats of its noble owner,
George Augustus Frederick, Earl of Chesterfield. The late Earl resided
wholly at Bretby during the latter part of his life, and dedicated a considerable
portion of his time to agriculture, having one of the most complete farming
establishments in this part of England. The chapel of Bretby with
the tithes were parcel of the rectory at Repton, which belonged to the
priory at that place. It passed with one of the co-heiresses of Porte
to the family of Hastings, and appears to have been brought to the Stanhope
family by the marriage of the first Earl of Chesterfield with a daughter
of Francis, Lord Hastings. The Earl supports a free school for 24
boys and 24 girls, which had been established in 1806.